Author Archive: Stanley

Foundations want to give to nonprofits who can help the greatest number of people. This is a problem for nonprofits where the need is great, but the population is low.

However, a nonprofit can show that they are helping more people by:

Partnering with other nonprofits with similar missions. As an example, a homeless shelter and a nonprofit providing domestic violence services can, many times, share the same clients. I always encourage nonprofits to work together, yet they usually do not. When it does occur, it is successful when the effort comes from within the nonprofits rather than from an outsider (like a grant writer) trying to push two nonprofits together.

In the grant application, explain how people can benefit from helping one person who helps another. As an example, by teaching one person to learn English, that person will likely help their children and family members. In another example, if one person receives an education and gets a job, they can motivate their families and friends to do likewise. A nonprofit should include all these people in the grant application.

A nonprofit can also help more people by expanding their services to nearby areas through satellite offices. As an example, a food pantry which distributes food to families can work with churches and communities to set up distribution centers where more people can be helped. This allows the nonprofit to claim support in nearby counties and partnerships with other organizations.

Whether they highlight it or not, all foundations look for a nonprofit’s greatest impact when considering a grant application. On grant applications, every nonprofit should consider all the people they are helping.

I am currently editing my young adult, science fiction novel and found that editing takes a lot longer than writing that first draft. Of course, I knew that. I didn’t realize how much longer.

Writing the first draft is not editing. While both involve creativity, the first draft has empty pages to work from. Nothing into something. Editing is changing that something into a less confusing something. A different way to think, I think.

New writing has flaws and drifts in thought. Editing eliminates the dead ends, makes grammar make sense, and forgives an absent trail of logic. If a writer is working on a schedule to finish a piece of work, they need to budget the bulk of their time to editing what they wrote (this goes for grant writers, too). From start to publication, editing will take the most time to complete of any project. Or, should.

So many writers spend as little time as possible during editing.

It goes back to editing being a different way of thought. Some writers are good at creating something new, some good at making that creativity better, and others can do both. A writer should decide what they are best at and ask for help with the other.

As I continue to edit my novel, I have changed my way of thinking about what I wrote. I am being more careful with the editing. The first draft was fun and fast. Editing is slow and business-like. It took some time to adjust my way of thinking and I hope I am there now.

This means spending a lot of time to make sure my novel sings the way I want my novel to sing. No flat notes allowed!

So many grant requests start off talking about how bad things are and all the things that need to be done for the nonprofit to succeed. Don’t do that.

Being positive is not difficult. A grant request should outline how things will be improved with the foundation’s money. A grant writer should discuss the past only as background and not about all the things that went wrong. From the background, lead quickly into what will be accomplished with the foundation’s funds, the progress to be made, and (more importantly) the people who will be helped.

I once had a nonprofit focus their efforts on closing down if they did not get more funding. Many times, negativity like this creeps into a grant request without the writer realizing it. This nonprofit needed to put that negative energy into what they would do with the grant money they received. They should plan for success for many years.

Yes, the worse could happen but there are many more good things that could happen instead. Foundations want to support nonprofits who are optimistic, hopeful, and confident. People want to give to positive people.

Before writing the grant request, decide it will be successful. There will be rejection and failure, but don’t make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Let negativity come from the foundation for missing an opportunity to help people. Do not make it easy for them to send a rejection.

Recently, I heard another author claiming there are no more the stories to be told. All the stories that could be told have been written. All that’s left are changes to the characters and the scenery. Authors who make this claim support their argument by listing a few basic plots all stories use.

Many stories have the same basic plots because they follow standard templates such as the hero’s journey or “save the cat” with its planned story beats. Yes, following templates like these will result in all the stories being told.

If a writer wants to write a different story, they need to be creative and ignore templates. This comes with risk as readers may reject something different from the template driven stories they are used to reading. But, I think this is a small risk.

I’m always asking readers what they are reading. While some read the same authors (who use the same templates), the majority enjoy finding something different. When they do, they stay with that author. I think the best way for an author to stand out and be successful is to write something that is not like everyone else’s story.

I’ve blogged about this topic before. But, I’m writing about it again to encourage writers to reject the well worn path of standard templates. Stop writing the story that everyone has already told. Like Robert Frost wrote:

I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.